National Hot Dog Month Day 31

National Hot Dog Month 2012 officially ended (for me) at Casey's Diner in Natick, MA. Casey's is the first place I remember getting a hot dog with my grandfather when I was four years old back in 1969. I have had hundreds of Casey's hot dogs since then. It was appropriate that this year's journey ended there.

There were other folks on hand today to provide commentary for the documentary style film I am putting together. Larry Cultrera from the Diner Hotline blog and author of Classic Diners of Massachusetts (The History Press)  was on hand to provide an historical perspective. Aaron Socrat, guest dogger on July 3, 2012 and former Natick Historical Commission member was there to provide insight into the process of Casey's being placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Drew Bennett came by today and took a ton of great photos which will be posted on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page.

Get the full story of the final visit of National Hot Dog Month 2012 to Casey's Diner on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Day 30

July 30, the second to last stop on the National Hot Dog Month Tour, brought me to my home town of Needham, MA to Dog Gone Ron's. Owner Eric Wegner has been slinging hot dogs out of a tiny cart (and a nicely restored 1974 Chevy Blazer) out in front of the Mobil Station he owns for 9 years.

I originally had other plans for today, but after watching another Needham native, Ally Raisman, perform on the Olympic stage in women's gymnastics Sunday night, I got nostalgic. That's what brought me to Dog Gone Ron's. People in town were definitely buzzing about the young lady who is poised for Olympic greatness. I wonder if she puts ketchup on her hot dogs?

Drew Bennett was sleeping off another weekend of working the help desk, but I brought my camera and posted some pictures on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook page.

Get the full story on my visit to Dog Gone Ron's on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Day 29

Stop 29 on the National Hot Dog Month Tour found me and my girls in Dartmouth , MA at Naughty Dawgs Express. I visited Naughty Dawgs last year in Faihaven, but they lost their lease in that location last fall. Owner Ken Raposa landed on his feet and replaced the Fairhaven location with two new spots: one in New Bedford and one in Dartmouth.

Since the Dartmouth location is open on Sundays, that's where we headed. Little Miss, The Photo Bomber, Miss Camera Shy and I rolled on down the highway to Dartmouth for lunch. The ride was accompanied by teenybopper music and some classic teen girl silliness that I PROMISED my daughters I wouldn't film.

Drew Bennett wasn't on this outing, but still make sure you check out the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page for some photos.

Get the full story on our visit to Naughty Dawgs Express on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Day 28

Day 28 of the National Hot Dog Month Tour brought me and Little Miss to Donna's Dawgs in Middleboro, MA. Donna Vickery treated Little Miss and I like old friends. She was quite possibly the most kind and welcoming host in two years of the National Hot Dog Month Tour. She had Little Miss wearing ketchup and mustard costumes and even let her help out behind the counter serving customers!

Donna's Dawgs is located on route 28 in Middleboro. The two year old business is one of the most adorable little hot dog joints I have encountered in my travels. We arrived early on a dreary, grey Saturday. Things were a tad slow at first, but before long, Donna's Dawgs was slammed.

Drew Bennett was working today, but I still managed to post some pictures on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page!

Get the full story on our visit to Donna's Dawgs on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Day 27

The 27th stop on the National Hot Dog Month Tour brought me back to Northborough to a classic hot dog truck called Dog Day Afternoon. Owner Lori Stone and her husband Mike park the truck on their own property on Lyman Street in Northborough. As a ten year veteran of the hot dog business, Lori had some good insights- and good, home made chili.

The hot dog truck is situated on a well traveled road that connects an industrial/office area to route 9 on one side and residential Northborough on another. It's a great location and even on a dreary day like today, they had steady traffic at the window.

Drew Bennett did NOT accompany me, and my camera ran out of batteries, so there are no photos of this visit on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page.  :(

Get the whole story on my visit to Dog Day Afternoon on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Day 26

Stop number 26 on the National Hot Dog Month Tour was Harbor Dogs in Scituate, MA. This is probably the coolest location for a hot dog cart we have seen all month: right on Scituate Harbor. There's lots of boat traffic, especially on weekends, and Harbor Dogs is on Scituate's "main drag," so there's good foot and vehicle traffic too.

Harbor Dogs owner, Mike Healy is a life long Scituate resident and a local fire fighter. He started in the hot dog business this spring and hopes to grow into a strong catering operation. When Mike has to be at the station, he has "his man Will" taking care of business.

Drew Bennett was back, with his camera and artful eye. You can see all his photos on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page.

Get the full story on our visit to Harbor Dogs on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Day 25

Auggie Dogs was the 25th stop on the National Hot Dog Month Tour. This hot dog cart, owned by Paul Sandgren, is literally right on the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border. You can actually be ordering your dogs in New Hampshire while Paul prepares them in Massachusetts!

Paul had the family helping out at Auggie Dogs today. His son, Nicholas was "helping" with taking money and wife Michele was there for moral support. Paul had a few gags up his sleeve for the Hotdogman!

Drew Bennett was at a doctor's appointment today, so his usual awesome pictures won't be on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page. I took some pictures though, and they'll be posted! (They aint half bad either).

Get the full story on my visit to Auggie Dogs on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Day 24

Windy City Eats in Weymouth, MA was stop number 24 on the National Hot Dog Month Tour. This 4 year old little family run hot dog shop was the first Chicago Hot Dog joint in the Boston area. Now owner Grady Carlson is the New England distributor for Vienna Beef; he plans on expanding the reach of Chicago Dogs to as many places as possible.

I had a nice visit with Grady and his wife, Sen, who works in the hot dog business with her husband. Sen has a food background- she owned and ice cream shop on the west coast before moving back to Weymouth with her hubby to be closer to her family.

The couple shares a vision for their budding hot dog empire and they plan to open a second location in Norwell in September.

Drew Bennett was on hand snapping pictures and, according to one patron, "looking like a Walter, not an Andrew." You can see his photos on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page.

Get the full story on our visit to Windy City Eats on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Day 23

Hot Dog Annie's in Leicester, MA was stop number 23 on The National Hot Dog Month 2012 Tour. This iconic little shack on route 56 has been open since 1949. More people ask me if I have been to Hot Dog Annie's than any other establishment, so I had to find out why.

The current owner was not there today, but her sister was.She thinks people like Hot Dog Annie's because the hot dogs are cheap- only $1.20, but she also credits the special barbecue sauce everyone in these parts raves about.

Drew Bennett was on hand after NOT SLEEPING last night! That didn't stop him from taking another batch of great pictures for the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page.

You can get the whole story on our visit to Hot Dog Annie's on Hot Dog Stories.

The National Hot Dog Month Tour has a new sponsor: Shelly Ehler and Show No Towels. Thanks Shelly!!!!!

National Hot Dog Month Day 22

It was a nice beach day, so we headed out to Gary's Best early for hot dogs for breakfast. We had about 15 minutes to kill before they opened, so I took Mrs. HDM and Little Miss for a quick tour of downtown New Bedford before breakfast.

Check out the full story about our visit to Gary's Best in New Bedford.


Check out the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page

National Hot Dog Month Day 21

For day 21 of the National Hot Dog Month Tour, all I had to do was step outside. Saturday July 21 had me grilling Pearl All Beef Franks on the grill for a summer cookout with family and friends.

We do this party every year around this time and it's a lot of fun. Beach, boating, water slides and hot dogs!

 Drew Bennett won't be taking any pictures for the Hot Dog Stories Facebook page- he's working this weekend.

Get the full story on our summer cookout on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Day 20

That's My Dog was stop number 20 on The National Hot Dog Month 2012 Tour. The picture you see is what I had for lunch today. That's a grilled, quarter pound, Pearl All Beef Frank served "All Around Crunchy." That's mustard, relish, onions, and Onion Crunch on that big dog.

Owner Mike Hogan recently moved to a new spot, right across from the Wrentham Village Premium Outlets. It's a great location for a hot dog business, Mike's self built cart is in a lot with plenty of parking and it's right next door to a new, 30 store annex to the Outlet Mall.

Mike had a decent lunch crowd today. His family stopped by; it's a good thing too- his 9 year old daughter needs to teach him a thing or two about condiment choices!

Drew Bennett took his usual batch of excellent photos, which can be seen at the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page. 

Get the full story about the tour stop at That's My Dog on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Day 19

Tex Barry's was stop number 19 on the National Hot Dog Month Tour. I know we went to Tex Barry's on Monday, this is the Tex Barry's in Taunton, MA. Tex Barry's was once a 14 unit franchise in this part of the state; now there are only two left. Tony, the owner, bought this business in 1984 after the Tex Barry franchise group broke up; he's been running it ever since.

The Coney Island sauce tasted just like the sauce at Tex Barry's in Attleborough, Tony doesn't add celery salt though, that's a self service thing at this location.

We were there early, so it was kind of quiet. Things were just picking up as we had to hit the road.

Drew Bennett got a bunch of pictures which are posted on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page.

Get the whole story on our visit to Tex Barry's Coney Island in Taunton on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Day 18

Olneyville New York System in Providence, RI was stop number 18 on the National Hot Dog Month 2012 Tour. This is an iconic hot dog shop that's been open since 1946 and is currently run by the 4th generation of the Stevens family.

Current Olneyville New York System owner Greg Stevens has been working in the hot dog business since he was 14 years old and he clearly loves his work. He sat down and gave me the history of the joint and a lesson on the difference between "hot dogs" and "wieners."

This was one fun visit. Mrs. HDM joined in on the fun today and had her first taste of a Rhode Island delicacy: Coffee Milk. We had a lot of laughs as Greg and the staff goofed on each other and some of the regulars. Everyone in the place seemed genuinely happy to be there.

Drew Bennett took his usual pile of pictures which will be posted on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page.

Check out the full story about our visit to Olneyville New York System on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Day 17

 

Beezers in Northborough, Massachusetts was stop number 17 on the National Hot Dog Month 2012 tour. This hot dog business was bordering on iconic status in Northborough before losing their lease two years ago. 

Owners and Chicago natives Steve and Linda Bock had been slinging authentic Chicago Dogs for 12 years in their old location. It took them two years of scouting before teaming up with Trombetta's Ice Cream in the new spot. As Metrowest's only Chicago dog option, many folks are glad the're back.

As always, Drew Bennett will have excellent photos of our stop on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page.

Get the whole story about our visit to Beezers on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Day 16

Tex Barry's Coney Island Diner was stop number 16 on the National Hot Dog Month 2012 Tour. Today was also owner Arthur Bombardier's first day back from vacation. Tex Barry's is a classic Worcester Lunch Car Diner that has been serving hot dogs and burgers in downtown Attleborough, Massachusetts since the 1960's.The hot dog business moved to its current location in 1982 and has been owned by Arthur since 1985.

The specialty of the house is a grilled frank on a steamed roll with Tex Barry's signature Coney Island sauce. Even though the place has no air conditioning, the tiny diner was packed on a hot summer day.

Drew Bennett, hot dog photographer extraordinaire, has put up a ton of pictures of our visit on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page.

Read the full story about our visit to Tex Barry's Coney Island Diner on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Day 15

Kool Kone was stop number 15 on the National Hot Dog Month Tour. I chose Kool Kone because it was a muggy, hot day and the whole gang was at the beach. I wanted to be back to the beach as fast as possible and Kool Kone was the closest place.

I have never had a hot dog at Kool Kone, so it was an eligible establishment!

Kool Kone is a classic summer shack/drive-in type of place. They serve up all kinds of ice cream, fried seafood, and, of course, hot dogs.

Drew isn't with me on weekends, so there won't be the usual pile 'o pictures on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page.

You can get the full story on my visit to Kool Kone on Hot Dog Stories

National Hot Dog Month Day 14

Dell's Kitchen was stop number 14 on the National Hot Dog Month Tour. Proprietor Della Sylvia and her daughter Kyla were working in the Dell's Kitchen trailer at Wareham High School on Saturday morning, July 14. Dell's is the food concession for the Wareham Junior Basketball program which takes place every Saturday morning.

Dell's Kitchen is a family affair. Daughter Kyla was helping out in the kitchen, Dell's husband was providing "moral support" and their ten year old was playing in the league. Dell coached in the league for many years and now she's happy to be providing fuel to players and fans alike.

This is still a part time gig for Dell, she works construction full time and hopes to retire to the hot dog business full time in a few years.

Drew isn't with me on weekends, so there won't be the usual pile 'o pictures on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page. That's too bad- cuz there was lots to see today and the food needed that high def lens of Drew's.

Still getting caught up on videos, but the full story is over on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Day 13

Snappy Dogs was the Friday the 13th stop on the National Hot Dog Month 2012 Tour. Teresa and Lisa, those wild and wacky Snappy Dog gals, were in rare form today. Friday is the day Snappy Dogs puts Lisa's Cordon Bleu chef training to the test because that's the day Snappy Dogs has their special, gourmet dog of the week! I challenged Lisa to come up with an extra special Friday special and she did not disappoint.

If you didn't know, Snappy Dogs is located in the parking lot of Colella's Market, at the intersection of route 85 and 135, in downtown Hopkinton, Massachusetts. The ladies are in their fourth season of grilling up Pearl all beef franks with delicious, gourmet style, home-made toppings.

I have worked on their trailer in the past, and as it turns out, it's a good thing I was there today. Lisa had an emergency- her daughter needed a tow- so I was pressed into service in the middle of the lunch rush for about an hour. I went there to film a Hot Dog Story, and I got put to work!

Drew Bennett took the usual pile of really good pictures (as opposed to the blurry, low resolution ones I shoot) and they will be up on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page.

I am still catching up on the videos after last weekend's computer disaster, I hope to be caught up by the end of this weekend.

Get the full story of our visit to Snappy Dogs on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Day 12

July 12th features The National Hot Dog month Tour stop in Wells, Maine at the recntly crowned home of the "Best Hot Dog in New England," Yank's Franks. Owners George and Janice Yankowski are very proud of their achievement. They switched over to Pearl Franks this season- maybe that's why they won!

Yank's Franks is a cute little shop on Route 1 in Wells, Maine. This is a popular vacation spot and if you could get up there on a day like today, you'd see why. I love Maine- I just wish the water was a bit warmer!

This was my second trip to Yank's Franks. Mrs HDM and I popped in there last summer while Hot Doggin' in Maine.

Tour photographer Andrew Bennett took a bunch of pictures which will be up on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page.

Get the full story of my visit to Yank's Franks on Hot Dog Stories.

Videos Coming!

After a rather unfortunate encounter with a martini, several days of fears of lost data, and an inability to load my video software onto my clunky desktop, I am happy to say the laptop has been resurrected! Mrs. HDM got me a properly formatted keyboard and saved the day.

I am back to full functionality and will be all caught up with the videos very soon. Yank's Franks in Wells, Maine is on the docket today and I am up for a long night of editing!

When the videos are up, they'll be posted on Hot Dog Stories and on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page.

It just goes to show you, don't drink near your hard drive!

National Hot Dog Month Day 11

July 10th brought the National Hot Dog Month 2012 tour to Bellingham, Massachusetts- the home of Larry Joe's New England Fire Pit. Larry has been absent from the hot dog scene for 26 weeks. Back in early December, his trailer caught fire and was a total loss. Luckily, he had complete insurance, so he had the funds to build a brand new trailer!

The new rig is 4 feet longer than the old one and has a lot of custom features. Larry went through two manufacturers and countless design tweaks before it was built to his demanding specifications.

Sir Lawrence of Frankfurter was in rare form today. He belted out a few tunes on the new electric piano and regaled the growing crowd with his usual rapier wit and good humor.

Larry Joe's serves half pound, hickory smoked, marinated, all natural, all beef, natural casing Pearl Franks. His assortment of condiments is all home made (dare I say gourmet) and there is not a ketchup bottle in sight!

Tour photographer Andrew Bennett took a bunch of pictures which will be up on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page.

Get the full story of my visit to Larry Joe's New England Fire Pit on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Day 10

Artwork by Hawkrall

July 10th brought the National Hot Dog Month 2012 tour to Cape Neddick, Maine and an iconic little joint out on Route One called Flo's Hot Dogs. Flo's has been owned by the same family for three generations- 53 years to be exact.

Current matriarch Gail Stacey's daughter, Kim, was working in the tiny, wood framed shack today. Gail is rumored to have quite a bit of "personality," but she and I share an aversion to a certain tomato based condiment, so I'm sure we would have gotten along just fine.

Kim was a real sweetheart and shared a bit of Flo's history with us as she served up steaming hot Old Neighborhood Franks to locals and summer folk alike.

I ordered up one dog with Flo's special relish and mayonnaise and Drew got one with the works.

 Andrew Bennett, official National Hot Dog Month Tour photographer, took a bunch of pictures which are posted on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page.

 You can read the full write up about the visit to Flo's on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Day 9

July 9th brought cameraman and photographer extraordinaire, Drew Bennet to the tour. He'll be joining me on many of the remaining stops for National Hot Dog Month 2012 taking pictures and shooting the "second reel" of our videos for each daily video and the "dogumentary." 

This week, we'll be visiting the "Three Pearls" of the greater Boston hot dog vending community. Today was number one: Fred's Franks (curiously owned by a guy named Carl) in Wakefield, MA. Carl grills up Pearl Franks and his specialty of the house is THE SHNURBLE- a grilled, all beef, Pearl Frank with sweet cabbage, mayonnaise, "sharashababa" sauce, and chourico. It is worth the trip!

Drew has a great camera and he takes very good pictures (better than mine). He ought to, he's taken a photo a day for the past eight years or so on the Benspark Blog. Going forward, Drew will be posting most of the (good) photos on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page and I'll be doing my thing here and on Hot Dog Stories and Eat West.

Unfortunately, there won't be any videos until the weekend. My laptop had an ugly encounter with a very dry martini this past weekend (with two bleu cheese stuffed olives). The encounter caused the CTRL key to remain stuck, which means the computer isn't recognizing keystrokes for the password login. A new keyboard is on its way, so I should be back in action making the videos soon. I thought my desktop would be up to the task, but it is nearly 7 years old and, in computer terms, a bit of an antique!

You can see the write up of our visit to Fred's Franks in Wakefield, MA today on Hot Dog Stories.

Tomorrow, we venture to Maine!

National Hot Dog Month Tour 2012 Day 8

Normally, I'd have a rather pithy little description about my daily hot dog here along with a few photos. Today, Mrs. HDM and I had DEEP FRIED hot dogs at the Robin's Nest, a little summer shack type joint in Rochester, MA.

I shot the standard video, got some decent footage, and loaded it onto my laptop. I spent most of Saturday night reviving my laptop from a rather unfortunate encounter with a martini, and I thought I had the problem taken care of. 

When I returned home from our hot dog story at the Robin's nest this afternoon, I loaded the video onto the laptop with the idea that I'd edit it up sometime tonight. 

We returned home around 10 PM and now my laptop won't turn on. 

SO, I can't access the raw video files since I can't turn on the damn computer.

That means no video for July 8th's stop on the National Hot Dog Month Tour, at least not until I resolve this issue.

Suffice to say, I have had a few choice words this evening, but with a visit to Larry Joe's New England Fire Pit on the docket for tomorrow, I will definitely have some entertaining footage of  THAT visit up on Hot Dog Stories by this time tomorrow night!

National Hot Dog Month Tour 2012 Day 7

July 7, 2012 was day 7 of my National Hot Dog Month Tour. I found myself in Onset, MA at So Sabe's: the area's newest hot dog spot. Owner and Pastor Gerry Fernandes has only been open since March.
I brought Pastor Fernandes and number one So Sabe's hot dog man Rick "RAM" McGruder some Jalapeno Pearl Franks, Onion Crunch, and a NHDM 2012 Tour tee shirt from DreamMaker Hot Dog Carts.

There was a local reporter on hand too- you can read her report about our visit to So Sabe's here.

Get the full story of our visit on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Tour 2012 Day 6

July 6, 2012 was day 6 of my National Hot Dog Month Tour. I found myself in Westborough, MA at Boomer's Dogs: the area's newest hot dog spot. Owner Dave Brown has only been open for one week!

I brought him a "trailer warming" gift of Pearl Franks and Onion Crunch!

Dave's doing it up right with grilled buns and real cheese for his chili cheese dogs.

You can get the rest of the story about my visit to Boomer's Dogs on Hot Dog Stories

National Hot Dog Month Tour 2012 Day 5

July 5, 2012 was day 5 of my National Hot Dog Month Tour. I found myself in Worcester, MA at The Dogfather: Worcester's ONLY Extreme Hot Dog Truck.

The last time I visited The Dogfather, owner Mark Gallant was putting on his annual Chili Dog Eating Contest. While it was a fun event to cover, I don't go for eating contests. 

Another famous contest got a LOT of press the past few days: Nathan's Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest. The winner, Joey Chestnut, ate 68 hot dogs in ten minutes. That's more than twice as many hot dogs as I will eat all month!

The National Hot Dog Month Tour isn't about eating to compete, it's about celebrating each vendor and each unique spin on the American staple they create. Some places are more traditional in their approach while other places push the encased meat's culinary extremes.

The Dogfather is a place that creates hot dog concoctions that are out of the ordinary. I heard Mark had come up with a new creation, so I headed on out to see what it was.

Catch The Dogfather on Hot Dog Stories

Happy Fourth of July!!

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

 HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!!

Get the story on Hot Dog Stories!!

National Hot Dog Month Tour 2012 Day 3

National Hot Dog Month Tour 2012 Day 3 features special guest dogger Aaron Socrat. Aaron grew up in South Boston. He wanted to join in on the tour and go to an iconic hot dog shack he often visited in his youth: Sullivan's out on Castle Island in South Boston.

We did a whirl wind tour of Castle Island, chatted with 42 year veteran manager Harry Markarian, and downed some grilled dogs on grilled buns with Sullivan's signature french fries.

The crew was gearing up for the Fourth of July!

Get the rest of the story on Hot Dog Stories

Yank's Franks- Voted Best Hot Dog in New England

Old friends of both The Hot Dog Truck and Hot Dog Stories Yank's Franks in Wells, Maine was voted best hot dog in New England by NECN viewers.

 Mrs. HDM and I visited Yank's Franks while Hot Doggin' in Maine last year; it was the first time Mrs. HDM made her opinions on processed cheese known to the public!

Yank's is on The National Hot Dog Month Tour this year and we'll be stopping in on them next week. The Hotdogman will show those NECN folks how it's done!

In the mean time, check out the video from NECN.

National Hot Dog Month Tour 2012 Day 2

Day 2 of the National Hot Dog Month 2012 Tour brought me to an old favorite with a NEW OWNER, Zippity Do Dog in Framingham, MA.

Zippity Do Dog serves 1/4 pound Pearl Franks and other brands as well. I opted for a Pearl with Coney sauce, onions, Onion Crunch, and mustard. You know what comes next.....

The crew was rocking out the hot dogs on a busy day!

Get the rest of the story on Hot Dog Stories! 

Shark Tank Entrepreneur Raven Thomas of Painted Pretzels answers the Question

I spoke to Raven Thomas, Shark Tank entrepreneur and creator of The Painted Pretzel last week. We chatted about her business, entrepreneurship, and life after Shark Tank. You can read that interview here.

I interview a lot of folks who have appeared on Shark Tank and I ask them questions about the show. I also ask one very important question: "Do you put ketchup on your hot dogs?"

I kind of expected Raven's answer, since she's from out west (Arizona). She said "Absolutely."

I am giving Raven a pass since she makes something almost as good as hot dogs: Chocolate covered pretzels! She claims her mom, a Cleveland native, only uses Stadium Mustard.

I think mom ought to have a little sit down with Raven the next time they are together. Set her straight, mom!

Let The National Hot Dog Month Tour Begin!

At the stroke of midnight, I chomped on a half pound, all natural, all beef, Pearl Frank at Fenway Sausage Works in New Bedford, MA. I brought along Pearl Jalapeno Franks for owner Cory Hanks to distribute free of charge to his patrons. Cory's got a nifty trailer he picked up used and he keeps the New Bedford bar crowd well fed on Friday and Saturday nights, 10PM- 2AM.

Get a load of this dog! It's a half pound Pearl, split and grilled, topped with bacon, sauteed onions, Diijon mustard, and Onion Crunch!

Get the Whole Story on Hot Dog Stories!